SCHEDULE CHANGE – TOMORROW (Thurs, Feb 18) all DCPS buildings will be closed due to the expected snow and ice. All students should plan to log in online per their normal class schedule. New DCPS Technology Equity Act legislation announced by CM Lewis George TODAY The office of CM Lewis George has introduced legislation to require DCPS to produce a comprehensive technology plan. The legislation was announced this afternoon and has received broad support from other CMs! Read about the announcement here. Ward 3 Education Network statement on the new legislation: “As DCPS parents we have been advocating for a comprehensive, funded technology plan for years. Comprehensive planning is essential to closing gaps in technology service provision and ensuring all students have the tools they need to learn. We are thrilled to see legislation that requires DCPS to produce a plan to provide computers, practical digital literacy training, internet, and updated classroom technology to support student learning. Thank you for listening to parents and prioritizing student learning and support as we begin 2021!” Dept of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Performance Oversight Hearing – Tues, Feb 23rd at 3 pm Thanks to the many parents, teachers and staff who’ve helped us push on DPR … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Hi Shepherd Families! Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Presidents’ Day! I hope you enjoyed a restful long weekend. Black History Month We are hosting two all-school meetings to celebrate Black History Month, and this year we are focused on Black History in the District. The all-school meetings will take place on 2/19 and 2/26 from 9:00-10:00 am. Look forward to an invitation to both events soon. We will be taping these events for those of you who cannot attend live. In addition, we are running a school-wide Passport to Black History in the District. Families can go visit the sites on the attached, document their visit and send their pics to us here: Scavenger Hunt Photos. We will have a slideshow at all school meetings to celebrate participation. Dr. Brown shared the following resources: In great honor and loving remembrance Remembering Hank Aaron, one of the greatest MLB players everMLB is devastated by the passing of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, one of the greatest players and people in the history of our game. He was 86. Don’t forget to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/mlb Follow us elsewhere too: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlb/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlb TikTok: https …www.youtube.com Hollywood legend Cicely Tyson recounts life, career in new memoir96-year-old stage and screen icon Cicely Tyson opens up to … Read More
PTO Bulletin
REMINDER – NO SCHOOL Monday, Feb 15 for the President’s Day Holiday CALENDAR CHANGE – Tues, Feb 16 Tues, Feb 16th will now be VIRTUAL for all students to allow for teachers to receive their second COVID vaccine doses. See update from DCPS here. Meal service will continue as planned from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at locations listed at www.coronavirus.dc.gov/food. My School DC Lottery Applications – due on March 1 for PK3-8th grade. Check out the latest info here. SAVE THE DATE – SHEPHERD PTO MEETING (Wed, Feb 24) Wed, Feb 24 at 6:30pm will be our next PTO meeting and we’ll be welcoming in some guest speakers to talk with us about how to cope with anxiety, stress and parenting during the pandemic. More details and the TEAMS link to be shared soon. Wellness Wednesdays – Support for Parents See the attached PDF for info on upcoming sessions for parents put on by the DC Dept of Behavioral Health focused on “Love and Relationships” for the month of February. Thanks to Dr. Browne, our school psychologist, for sharing with us! From Dr. Brown – Wellness Wednesday Support for Parents.PDF Upcoming DCPS Parent University Sessions If you haven’t looked lately, there are some great … Read More
PTO Bulletin
TODAY at 4 pm – Black History Month Planning Meeting We met last Wednesday, but would love to have more people involved. Our theme is “A Celebration of Black History in the District.” Join us on Wednesday, February 3rd at 4 pm. Topic: Black History Month Committee Time: Feb 3, 2021 04:00 PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81995036561?pwd=L3BwcmhoNjM5NWVBTmxIdmg0anU5Zz09 Meeting ID: 819 9503 6561 Passcode: 5zYYV8 Thurs, Feb 4 at 6:30 pm – DPR MASTER PLAN MEETING – Ward 4 RAISE YOUR VOICE AROUND PROGRAMMING/USE FOR THE NEW SHEPHERD COMMUNITY CENTER FOR STUDENTS AND USE OF THE FIELD FOR THE SCHOOL DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is excited to announce the next phase of our #Ready2Play Master Plan with a series of upcoming virtual meetings that will focus on parks and recreation within each ward. This is YOUR opportunity to focus on particular recreation centers and parks in YOUR ward that you want to see prioritized for capital improvements and/or new programming in the future. It will also be a chance to suggest new sites for possible future facilities. The content of each interactive meeting will focus on a particular ward. We will share findings from the Ready2Play citywide survey and … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
** UPDATE: All students will be virtual on Monday, Feb 1 due to inclement weather Dear Families, This week we will welcome more students back to Shepherd Elementary, and we are so excited to see them. There have been a lot of grade level meetings with families this past week and communication shared, but please see the chart below to see grade-by-grade shifts that are being made to accommodate in-person learning. Please note that we made two hires this week. Our new instructional aide who will work with Ms. Johnson in PK 3 is Ms. Scott who is an experienced early childhood educator who has experience in conducting in-person learning during the pandemic. In addition, we hired another experienced educator, Ms. Russell, as a long-term substitute for Mr. Mack who will be out until April 1st. Also, the good news is Mr. Garner’s condition continues to improve. Please reach out with any questions, and we will be checking in throughout the transition to see how things are going. Your feedback will be invaluable. Black History Month Planning – Feb 3 at 4 pm We met last Wednesday, but would love to have more people involved. Our theme is A Celebration of Black … Read More
PTO Bulletin
ATTENTION 5TH GRADE FAMILIES – DEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE TODAY Join prospective families and Principal Neal for the virtual open house on TODAY at 10 am. Register here to get all the meeting details. DCPS Town Hall – TODAY at 5 pm Hear from Chancellor Ferebee and his colleagues about the latest Re-opening Plans for Term 3 from a district level. Click here to register. Shepherd PTO meeting – TODAY at 6:30 pm Join us on Wednesday, Jan 27 at 6:30 pm. Click here to join the meeting via TEAMS. We will cover Term 3 updates with Dr. Hedlund, Shepherd Park Library updates, Shepherd advocacy updates, PAVE updates, plans and activities for the Spring, etc. Black History Month Committee Planning Meeting – TODAY at 5 pm Please join us in planning Shepherd’s celebration of Black History Month. This year’s focus will be on Washington, DC. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, January 27th at 5:00 pm in advance of the PTO meeting. Please join us here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85470721682?pwd=aFBVelE5blZmNUs0c1pXV3RIaDZVZz09 Meeting ID: 854 7072 1682
PTO Bulletin
ATTENTION 5TH GRADE FAMILIES – DEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEK Join prospective families and Principal Neal for the virtual open house on Wed, Jan 27 at 10 am. Register here to get all the meeting details. DCPS Community Town Hall – Wed, Jan 27 at 5 pm Hear the latest from Chancellor Ferebee and his colleagues on the plans for Term 3 Re-opening. Click here to register. PTO meeting – THIS WEDNESDAY! Join us on Wednesday, Jan 27 at 6:30 pm. Click here to join the meeting via TEAMS. We will cover Term 3 updates with Dr. Hedlund, Shepherd Park Library updates, Shepherd advocacy updates, PAVE updates, plans and activities for the Spring, etc. Eureka Math Workbook Pick Up TODAY AND TUESDAY Attention K-5 families: Eureka Math workbooks may be picked up at Shepherd Elementary Monday, January 25th and Tuesday, January 26th from 8:30-3:30 in the multi-purpose room. Please use the Jonquil entrance. Thanks! Black History Month Committee Planning Meeting – Wed, Jan 27 at 5 pm Please join us in planning Shepherd’s celebration of Black History Month. This year’s focus will be on Washington, DC. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, January 27th at 5:00 pm in advance of the PTO meeting. Please join … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Dear Families, Term 3 starts on February 1, and next week, staff will close out Term 2 and prepare for all the changes headed our way. On Thursday, Jan 28th, your child will not have synchronous (live) instruction if his/her homeroom teacher is returning to the school building to teach in person Term 3: Ms. Conte, Mr. Spriggs, Mr. Morris, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Rajwani, Ms. Saxton, Ms. Murali, Dr. Wilson and Mr. Clayborn. Please check their Canvas pages for asynchronous learning options that day. They will be here at Shepherd preparing their classrooms. On Friday, January 29th, there will be no school for students, and teachers will participate in professional development and complete Term 2 grades. At this time, in person learning and CARE seats for Term 3 are full. We will not be offering any more seats until further notice. PK 3 CARE will not open on 2/1, but we hope to have it up and running by mid-February. Staffing Updates Mr. Garner is making slow but steady progress in his recovery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is in good spirits. Ms. Hipps will have her last day at Shepherd on Friday, January 29th. We … Read More
IB Newsletter
UPCOMING EVENTSStay up-to-date on all upcoming IB events January- Chinese New Year and MLK Day January 8th-IB Learner Profile and Approach To Learning Kick-Off January 15th-Classrooms Going Global Friday Morning Meeting January 18th- Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 20th- Inauguration Day January 22nd-Classrooms Going Global Friday Morning Meeting FEATURED IB FAMILY CONNECTION RESOURCE A Guide to Resources for Parents on Martin Luther King Jr. Day“For my 4-year-old daughter, the reason there’s no school on a given day doesn’t usually register. But last week, she remarked on how there was no school Monday because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day…” IB PROGRAMME OF INQUIRY AND IB POLICIES Click here IB LEARNER ATTRIBUTE OF THE MONTH: BALANCED Click here APPROACH TO LEARNING OF THE MONTH: SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS Click here for family resource HAS YOUR CHILD TAKEN ACTION IN HIS OR HER COMMUNITY? Examples of Students Taking Action at ShepherdDuring our stand-alone unit 2 (Celebrating My Families), we discussed major celebrations and how families gather and celebrate together. After sharing about “La Fete des Rois”, some students took action by cooking “La Galette” and celebrating at home. Click here to nominate your child for an IB award Shepherd’s Virtual IB Programme Overview … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good afternoon Shepherd families, Honestly, it feels more like a month than a week since we returned to school. It has been an emotionally devastating week to watch the desecration of our democracy as citizens of the United States and the District of Columbia and the systemic racism that enabled it. As I listened to the discussion our Wellness team facilitated with the students, I was overwhelmed with our children’s capacity to make meaning out of chaos, their ability to express their emotions and their genuine uncertainty about what the future holds, yet they are hopeful, brave and wise beyond their years. This generation will a generation of old souls. Staffing Update You may have noticed that there were no art classes this week, and I waited to share this news until I had the permission of his family. Our deeply beloved Mr. Garner suffered a major stroke a little over a week ago. He was in critical condition and underwent surgery, but his health is improving daily. At this time, he is in good spirits and resting comfortably, and his blood pressure is under control. Mr. Garner’s family asks that we pray for him. Ms. Pereira is putting together a video … Read More